Confused.com

Last updated
Confused.com
Company type Limited company
Industry Financial services
Founded2001
Headquarters Cardiff, Wales, UK
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Steve Dukes (CEO)
Services Financial services
Parent RVU
Website https://www.confused.com

Confused.com is a UK based financial services comparison platform launched in 2001 and specialising in comparison of insurance and financial services, including car insurance, home insurance, energy, van insurance and life insurance. [1] [2] Confused.com's platform includes a website and app.

Contents

History

Confused.com launched in 2001, becoming the UK’s first car insurance comparison site. Its offices are based in Cardiff, Wales.

Confused.com was part of the Admiral Group plc until its sale to RVU on 30 May 2021. [3]

Confused.com is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. [4] [5]

Management

Confused.com has undergone a high degree of management churn in recent years. At the top level, founding Managing Director Kate Armstrong, an IT consultant originally from Sydney, retired from the business in 2005, following the successful flotation of the Admiral Group. She was succeeded by Deborah Williams who took the reins from 2005 to 2007. The business underwent expansive growth in this period with profit hitting £36 million in 2007. [6] It was with some degree of surprise therefore that the industry received news of Williams' departure to join a relatively unknown insurance broker. [7] Williams was succeeded by Carlton Hood in the newly created position of CEO. The sector was shaken up by the ground breaking Compare the Market campaign in 2009; Confused.com, along with other established competitors, lost market share. Hood resigned abruptly in 2010 [8] and was succeeded by Group FD Kevin Chidwick as an interim measure.

Chidwick remained in place until January 2012, and was succeeded by Admiral Group senior manager Nic Weng Kan followed by Martin Coriat. Coriat was MD of Admiral-owned French comparison site LeLynx.fr [9] until he took up the position of Confused.com CEO in October 2013.

In August 2012, Joby Russell stepped into the role of Marketing Director. After overseeing the launch of the 'Brian the Robot' campaign and later toy promotions, Russell left the role in May 2015 to take up the role of CMO at online estate agents Purplebricks.com. [10] In late 2015, Paul Troy was appointed the CMO role at Confused.com. [11] Troy had previously worked for Moneysupermarket between 2011 and 2013 where he created the 'You're so money supermarket' campaign.

In September 2017, Louise O'Shea was appointed as CEO of Confused.com taking over from Martin Coriat who himself was appointed as chief executive of Admiral-owned French comparison website LeLynx. O'Shea was promoted to the CEO position from her role as finance director at Confused.com. [12]

In May 2018, Confused.com announced the appointment of Sam Day as chief marketing officer, replacing Troy. [13]

In March 2023, Steve Dukes was appointed as the CEO of Confused.com as Louise O'Shea stepped down from the role after almost 6 years. Dukes joined Confused.com as the company’s first Chief Operating Officer in 2019. Before joining Confused.com, Dukes served in product leadership and general management roles in high growth companies within the financial services and eCommerce sectors. This included serving as CEO at Commuter Club, where he oversaw a period of key transformation within the company. [14]

Advertising

In early years, Confused.com achieved success with a simple, repetitive direct response advertising format, in which a man described what Confused.com was offering, with a slightly different variant being used from 2003 until 2005. This led to the longest running of Confused.com’s campaigns, starting from 2005 until 2008, featuring simple cardboard props on a white background, later with people saying they were "Confused.com" by the depicted marketplace. [15] In later years as competitors Moneysupermarket.com, Go.Compare and Comparethemarket.com have entered the market, Confused.com has tried numerous different advertising vehicles. None have emulated the success of the initial campaign and Confused.com has slipped from the position of market leader to being the fourth largest car insurance comparison website in the UK. The popularity of the company's slogan 'Confused.com' rose to prominence after the success of the 2002 campaign. A 2002 study by Webster showed that the slogan was the third most used phrase of the year behind 'Hey you' and 'Naughty Soldier'.[ citation needed ]

Later adverts, starting around the year of 2009, contained real life testimonials, featured customers and prolific social media users talking about their experiences while using the website, as well as showcasing the website’s simplicity by explaining how it works. [16]

Adverts in early 2010 focused on the concept of regret and featured members of the public lamenting that they could have purchased something they wanted if they had purchased their car insurance through Confused.com. [17]

In September 2010, Confused.com introduced the character of "Cara Confused" [18] [19] a wild-haired animated version of the original company mascot that was present on the former Confused.com logo. [19] The inspiration for the creation of Cara came from Kate Armstrong, the founder and former managing director of Confused.com. [20] The campaign used the tagline, "it pays to be Confused.com". In February 2011 an advert started featuring Cara (voiced by West End star Louise Dearman) singing the Diana Ross track "Chain Reaction". [21] Marketing Director Mike Hoban claimed that this campaign gained Confused.com 2 million customers since launch. [22]

On 1 June 2013, a campaign launched featuring a robot named Brian, depicted as being on a mission to help people to "save pounds". [23] On 24 December 2014, an advert was launched where scrap dealers kidnap Brian. Instead of melting him down straight away, they leave him hanging through the night on a magnet. However, his robot friends at headquarters receive his distress call and go to help him. A couple of weeks later the succeeding advert shows the same five co-robots, known as the Herberts (Chief Herbert, Miss Herbert, Stunt Herbert, Clever Herbert and Baby Herbert), go to help Brian. They stop the incinerator at the last moment, saving Brian and continuing the 'Brian' advertising campaigns after they repair him in March 2015. In August 2015, an advert was launched featuring Brian and the Herberts dancing to "Jump on It!" promoting the then brand new Brian toy available by buying insurance through Confused.com. In early 2016, two more toys were launched, Miss Herbert and Stunt Herbert, with a corresponding campaign showing both characters competing with each other to promote their respective toys.[ citation needed ]

On 1 August 2016, the adverts featuring the Robots were scrapped in favour of a new advertisement featuring James Corden. [24]

On 17 August 2018, following a run of 6 adverts, James Corden was replaced in favour of a new direction and new frontman Timothy Murphy. The advert features Murphy driving a car through a busy mass of confusing messaging and advertising before ending with Murphy driving down a clear road. [25] This advert and all subsequent adverts featured Link Wray's Rumble.

The ads parody the songs like "Y.M.C.A." by Village People and "Chained Reaction" by Diana Ross.[ citation needed ]

Sponsorship

Confused.com has sponsored programmes on ITV such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (including the drama series Quiz , due to its association with Millionaire), Ninja Warrior UK , Sunday Night at the Palladium , Celebrity Squares , Catchphrase and Emmerdale , and The Simpsons on Sky Showcase (formerly Sky One & Sky 1). It also previously sponsored the ITV National Weather. In 2019, along with Land Rover, they were a sponsor of ITV's coverage of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tango (drink)</span> British fruit-flavoured soft drink brand

Tango is a carbonated soft drink originating in the United Kingdom, primarily sold in the UK and Ireland. It was first launched by Corona in 1950. Corona was purchased by the Beecham Group in 1958, and Corona Soft Drinks by Britvic in 1987.

A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may have signified a legal responsibility, for example at Companies House in the UK, the titles are less strict/formal in the 21st Century and allow companies to acknowledge the evolving and increasingly significant role that marketers can play in an organisation, not least because of the inherent character of successful marketers. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications, market research, product marketing, distribution channel management, pricing, customer success, and customer service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smash Martians</span>

The Smash Martians were the stars of a series of 1970s and early 1980s TV advertising campaigns for Smash instant mashed potato in the UK. They were a family of Martian robots who would watch humans laboriously preparing mashed potato the traditional way on TV. The robots would then mock what they saw by chortling as they heard how the "Earth people peeled their own potatoes with their metal knives, boiled them for twenty of their minutes, then smashed them all to bits" – instead of using Smash instant mash. The voices were by Peter Hawkins. The catchphrase 'For Mash Get Smash' is still an iconic advertising slogan in the UK. The adverts featuring the Smash Martians were voted TV advert of the century by Campaign magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral Group</span> Motor insurance company

Admiral Group plc is a British financial services company headquartered in Cardiff, Wales. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, and markets the Admiral, Bell, Elephant, Diamond and Veygo insurance brands, as well as launching the price comparison services Confused.com and Compare.com. The group employs more than 10,000 people across its brands.

Sheilas' Wheels is a car insurance brand based in the United Kingdom that was initially targeted exclusively towards women, after research showed that female drivers were generally more cautious, made fewer claims and had different requirements to men. This changed in March 2011 however, as a consequence of the EU Gender Directive, which stated that "insurers in Europe will have to charge the same prices to women and men for the same insurance products without distinction on the grounds of sex", giving insurance companies until 20 December 2012 to eliminate any gender bias in their pricing. The brand, named after the Australian slang term "sheila" for "woman", was launched in October 2005 by Peter Wood, and is part of Esure, the insurance group he founded with HBOS in February 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moneysupermarket.com</span> British price comparison business

Moneysupermarket.com Group plc is a British price comparison website-based business specialising in financial services. The website enables consumers to compare prices on a range of products, including energy, car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, mortgages, credit cards and loans. The company's subsidiaries include the Travel Supermarket and Moneysavingexpert websites. Moneysupermarket Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

BGL Group is a financial services company based in Orton Southgate, Peterborough, England. Its main lines of business are vehicle and home insurance, with a range of supplementary products such as breakdown cover, legal protection and personal accident cover.

BeatThatQuote.com was a British price comparison site specializing in personal finance products. The site was disabled in 2013 after being acquired by Google.

Swinton Insurance is a UK insurance retailer that was established in 1957. The company offers a range of insurance products from a panel of UK insurers covering car, bike, home, commercial, taxi and caravan insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Accident Helpline</span>

National Accident Helpline is a UK-based personal injury company providing personal injury claims advice, service and support to consumers who have suffered a no-fault accident.

Comparethemarket is a UK price comparison website, founded in 2006, that is part of the BGL Group. The website also offers other on-line companies the ability to provide their customers with a co-branded or white labelled comparison service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compare the Meerkat</span> Advertising campaign for price comparison website comparethemarket.com

Compare the Meerkat is an advertising campaign on British and Australian commercial television for comparethemarket.com, a price comparison website, part of BGL Group. The adverts feature Aleksandr Orlov, a CGI anthropomorphic Russian meerkat, and his family and friends. Orlov is portrayed as being of aristocratic stock and the founder of comparethemeerkat.com: the campaign originally centred on his frustration over the confusion between his website and comparethemarket.com, playing on the similarity between the words market and meerkat. Orlov's catchphrase is "Simples".

Churchill Insurance is a British insurance company based in Bromley, London. Founded in 1989, as one of the country's first direct to customer car insurance companies, the company has expanded to offer a range of general insurance products. Since February 2012, Churchill is part of the Direct Line Group; policies are underwritten by the parent United Kingdom Insurance Limited.

GoCompare.com Limited, trading as Go.Compare is a Welsh financial services comparison company based in Newport, Wales. Its website provides comparison details for financial products including car insurance, home and pet insurance and breakdown cover. Since 2021 it has been owned by Future plc. The company's advertising campaign in 2015 was voted as the "most irritating advertisement."

J. Russell Findlay is an American businessman, philanthropist and an advertising and marketing executive. He is currently the global chief marketing officer at Hiscox, an international specialist insurer as well as a small business owner and a managing director of a non-profit organization.

The FullSIX Group is an independent European marketing group. Founded in Paris by Marco Tinelli in 1998 under the name Grey Interactive, over the past 15 years the digital agency has become an integrated communications group composed of 20 agencies around Europe and in 8 different countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Line Group</span> British insurance company

Direct Line Insurance Group plc is a British insurance company based in the United Kingdom, formed in 2012 by the divestment of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's (RBS) insurance division, through an initial public offering. The company owns a number of insurance subsidiaries, providing various insurance products, including Direct Line and Churchill, Darwin as well as the roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider Green Flag.

Compare.com is a comparison shopping website for intangible products, most notably car insurance, with headquarters in Richmond, VA. Compare.com was owned by its founding investor, Admiral Group plc, owner of the United Kingdom's first car insurance comparison site.

More Than is an insurance company based in the United Kingdom that offers motor, home, pet and travel insurance. Its business arm More Than BUSINESS offers business insurance. The company is a subsidiary of the RSA Insurance Group.

Michael "Jeff" Charney is an American executive who served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of companies such as Aflac, Progressive, and QVC. In the advertising community, he is known for developing campaigns featuring company brand icons such as Progressive's Flo and Dr. Rick and the Aflac Duck. He has won several awards such as Adweek's the Marketer of the Year and Brand Genius award, Ad Age's Creativity 50 and he was ranked #35 on Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in 2012.

References

  1. Little, Stephen (27 November 2015). "Car insurance: Going to the wrong comparison site could cost you over £300 more for same policy". The Independent . Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  2. "UK car insurance premiums see 8% annual rise". Willis Towers Watson. January 22, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  3. Barry, Sion (2020-12-29). "Admiral agrees sale of Confused.com and other price comparison sites". Business Live. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  4. "Confused.com - About Us". Confused.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  5. "The Financial Services Register - Inspop.com, Ltd (Confused.com)". Financial Conduct Authority. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. "Admiral Group plc - Press Release". Admiralgroup.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  7. Barry, Sion. "Debra Williams quits Confused.com". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  8. Sion Barry. "Chief executive quits Admiral's Confused.com". WalesOnline. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  9. "Admiral Group PLC - Our Companies". Admiral Group PLC. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  10. "Confused.com marketing chief Joby Russell moves to Purplebricks.com as CMO" . Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  11. "Confused.com plots marketing resurgence with new CMO role - Marketing Week". www.marketingweek.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  12. Symcox, Jonathan (12 September 2017). "Confused.com appoints new chief executive". UKFast. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  13. "Confused.com appoints chief marketing officer after Paul Troy exits". The Drum. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  14. Walker, Alastair (27 March 2023). "New CEO at Confused.com is Announced".
  15. The Hall of Advertising (5 January 2013). "Confused.com (2002, UK)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 via YouTube.
  16. Noel Bussey (13 November 2008). "Farm lands £25m Confused.com task - advertising news - Campaign". Campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  17. Anne Cassidy (9 July 2010). "Confused.com splits with BMB - advertising news - Campaign". Campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  18. The Hall of Advertising (1 June 2014). "Confused.com - Interweb (2010, UK)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-15 via YouTube.
  19. 1 2 Parsons, Russell. "Confused.com introduces animated logo in fresh push | News". Marketing Week. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  20. "Kate Armstrong: profile of a PhD student". University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School. Autumn–Winter 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  21. "Confused.com – Cara Sings Chain Reaction". TV Ad Music. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  22. "New Confused.Com ad campaign featuring Cara launched". todayinsurance.co.uk. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  23. Brownsell, Alex (29 May 2013). "Confused.com overhauls brand in search of 'expert' positioning". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  24. "James Corden is drivers' hero in Confused.com's sheep whisperer". Confused.com. 2 October 2017.
  25. "Confused.com's new CMO drops James Corden from ads and restructures marketing team". The Drum. Retrieved 2018-08-20.